


just a dream

by sinfulchihuahua0602



Series: comfortember 2020 [3]
Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Drowning, F/M, Gen, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Whump, Hurt Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), Nightmares, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27885325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinfulchihuahua0602/pseuds/sinfulchihuahua0602
Summary: day 3:nightmares
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: comfortember 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041828
Kudos: 23





	just a dream

_Water. There was water everywhere, and it was slowly rising; Hiccup was floating in the diving bell, unable to move. His whole body was cold, freezing, and he shivered._

_“Help,” he said. Except he didn’t - he couldn’t move. He just floated as the water rose, up to his shoulders, unable to speak. No one was coming for him._

_A black shape moved in front of the glass, and then green eyes, and Hiccup tried to move, he really did._ Toothless, _he said, without saying it, without moving any part of his body. He just floated, unseeing, fighting without fighting at all._

_Toothless’s mouth opened, bubbles escaping, tail lashing and wings flicking._ I’m here, bud, _Hiccup didn’t say, and Toothless pressed himself against the glass, eyes wide and panicked._

Save yourself, _he didn’t say, and he didn’t push himself against the glass, he didn’t gesture for Toothless to leave. The water rose to his chin. Toothless opened his mouth again, a distant panicked growl reaching Hiccup’s ears. Toothless blinked, slowly, and then floated upwards, before he twitched and pushed himself back against the glass._

_It was weaker. Hiccup didn’t thrash, didn’t fight, didn’t move._ Go, _he didn’t say._ Get the others, save yourself, you won’t make it, _he didn’t say._

_Toothless didn’t leave. Hiccup didn’t hold his breath as the water covered his nose and mouth. Toothless didn’t save himself._

_Hiccup’s vision blurred. Toothless started to go limp, floating more than moving consciously. Hiccup’s vision started to go dark, and then it did, and he sank into cold, night-black water._

“Toothless,” Hiccup gasped, eyes snapping open. He was met with pitch black, and he sat up quickly - something shifted next to him, but he didn’t care, all he could feel was his breaths coming short, it was dark, dark, he couldn’t breathe-

“Hiccup? Hiccup!” Astrid sat up next to him, her hands on his shoulders. His gaze snapped to her quickly, eyes wide and panicked in the darkness, barely seeing the planes of her face in the moonlight.

“Astrid,” he breathed between too-short breaths. “Toothless,” he repeated, and then he started moving - sliding out of bed, stumbling on the wooden floor. Astrid followed him, walking around the bed, standing beside him.

“Hiccup, what’s wrong? Was it a nightmare?” she asked, and he didn’t respond, eyes flicking around unseeingly in the dark, panicked, still _couldn’t breathe, there was water everywhere-_

“Need- need light,” he said quickly, and felt Astrid’s presence disappear. He stumbled forward another step, and then the room was illuminated in low candlelight, and-

“Toothless,” he breathed, relief flooding through him. He almost ran forward, dropping to kneel by Toothless, reaching out for black scales. He ran his hands over them, feeling Toothless shift slightly, but he was _alive,_ he was _here_ and he was _alive_ and _safe_ and he could _breathe-_

Astrid knelt next to him, and Toothless opened his eyes, making a sleepy, confused noise and turning to nudge at Hiccup. He dropped his forehead on Toothless’s side, breathing slowly, heart still racing and the fading edges of panic still making his body shake.

“Hiccup, it was just a dream,” Astrid said quietly. Hiccup nodded, and Toothless seemed to understand, nudging his nose under Hiccup’s chin until he raised his head and gave a small smile, scratching underneath his jaw.

Toothless purred, and Astrid put her arm around him, pulling him close. Hiccup closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to Toothless’s, putting his own arm around Astrid.

“It was just a dream,” he whispered. “It’s not real.”


End file.
